Actor: Thank you.

Chapter 857: The Intersection of Reality and Illusion
Zhang Yuan understood one thing very well.

That is the world, full of discrimination and barriers.

Although we are all Chinese, people from different provinces still slander each other.

Even different districts and counties can curse each other.

The most typical example is the Thirteen Guardians of Jiangsu.

During the epidemic, this place created dozens of QR codes.

There is no connection between provincial capitals and prefecture-level cities, between cities, and even between villages.

This is China after thousands of years of ethnic integration.

People from Northeast China cannot understand the dialects of Fujian, Guangdong and Guangxi.

People in Guangdong Province are not used to northern cuisine.

But even so, China is the region in the world that has done the best job in multi-ethnic integration.

The situation of bulk distribution in other multi-ethnic regions is beyond the imagination of ordinary Chinese people.

The most obvious is our southern neighbor.

The states can all fight with each other.

Not only is the language different, even the writing is different.

It’s still the same country.

Zhang Yuan is now overseas.

This is not the Beijing Film Studio, this is Hollywood.

This is the world of white people and old Jews.

There is not much room for people with yellow skin here.

Hollywood was founded in 1925, and by 2008, more than eighty years had passed.

However, there are still only a handful of yellow-skinned stars who can gain a foothold here.

Therefore, it is not easy to have a place in Hollywood.

When Chen Long filmed the first "Rush Hour", he was not taken seriously at first.

After the success of the first film, he also said in an interview that he was unhappy filming in Hollywood.

Because even an international superstar like Uncle Long still doesn't have much say in the crew.

Unlike in the country, directors and producers have to discuss things with him.

He loves being the head of the family, so of course he feels aggrieved.

Although Zhang Yuan had no habit of being the head of a family, he still had to carefully consider how to deal with it.

Whether it's "Fast and Furious" or Universal Pictures.

To him, it was a completely unfamiliar environment.

How to gain a firm foothold instead of being thrown away after being used by others is a very technical issue.

"Mr. Zhang Yuan, I heard from Harvey that you are willing to sponsor the new Fast and Furious movie."

"What is your budget?" Production Supervisor Mike got to the point.

"First of all, I'm talking about investment." Zhang Yuan clarified his statement.

Investments are returned proportionally.

Sponsorship may not be necessary.

These two things are different. Investing is like having children after marriage. You pay a cost and get a result.

Sponsorship is like Mr. Wang next door. If you help, you may get results, but you may not necessarily have a baby.

You white gentlemen, don’t try to play tricks on me. I’m not here to work for free.

I just want it all.

You want to be famous and make money.

For nearly a year, Zhang Yuan has been "saving money".

He did not touch his salary for Rush Hour 3 and The Forbidden Kingdom.

Plus the accounts settled from various companies during the Chinese New Year.

Without affecting other investments and projects, the amount of funds he can personally come up with in the short term is approximately US$500 million.

This is the budget for his trip to North America.

According to his estimate, 500 million US dollars should be enough to buy a seat.

Besides, Global Times itself had no idea at that time.

I don’t know if the next Fast and Furious movie will make money.

It is even more unclear whether the "old employee team building" plan brought by Vin Diesel can reverse the downward trend.

Actually, Vin Diesel is very smart.

The Marvel Universe was just getting started at this time.

The Hollywood blockbuster model of a hodgepodge and chaos has not become popular.

So his ideas were quite advanced.

When it came to "Fast & Furious 5", gathering the team in Rio really felt like "Avengers assembling".

But that was later. Now, for Universal, this is still a project with great uncertainty.

So they thought that Zhang Yuan wanted a fixed role.

In fact, what he wants is to intervene in the "Family Man" universe.

But he couldn't reveal his true colors, so he didn't say it directly.

"Mr. Mike, I think I should be the one asking you this question."

"It's how much you think the character of Han is worth."

Vin Diesel has teamed up with the producer to find a screenwriter and make a rough script.

The current content is intended to link the main characters of the first three parts.

Because at the end of the third part, Lao Fantou made a guest appearance.

In terms of the plot, it was the younger brother of the male protagonist in the third part who said that someone came to find the new Tokyo Drift King and said that he was a family member of the deceased Han.

Family Man appears as Han's friend.

And Han is a dead man.

So in the fourth part, a plot was designed for him to commit a crime together with his family members to make up for this plot.

Although Fan wanted to shoot the 4th and 5th films back to back, Universal did not agree.

So I didn’t expect that the fifth part would involve such a big case.

I also didn't expect that each character would receive a reward of tens of millions of US dollars per person.

In fact, there are still some minor problems in the connection of the plot later on, after all, it was made up for later.

In the third part, Han embezzles the stolen money from the local gang.

How much is that?
For a man worth tens of millions of dollars, there is no need to do that.

So in order to fulfill this point and also to expand the possibilities of the role.

Later, the setting was supplemented, Han was resurrected, and it was said that he had been working with Mr. Doe.

In order to continue making movies and making money, Universal Studios dares to make up any story.

And after the series became a huge hit and became a world-class IP, the company simply put the third film, which failed at the box office, as a spin-off and no longer considered it a formal series work.

Zhang Yuan adopted the strategy of using the real to counter the virtual and the virtual to counter the real to play tricks on the opponent.

You can't be honest right from the start, or white people will think you're a fool.

Mike has also realized that this young Chinese man is not easy to deal with.

Not only was he well prepared and conducted thorough research, but he was also watertight, making it difficult for you to find his weaknesses.

"Well, let me talk to the company and the team first."

"Then give you a plan and we will discuss it."

Haha...see, you are anxious again.

Whoever comes up with a solution first indicates whose need is more urgent.

He gives the plan and I can take the initiative to bargain.

Otherwise he would fall into a disadvantageous situation.

Zhang Yuan nodded in agreement and spoke at the same time.

“While you guys are discussing the plan, could you please arrange for me to meet with the team first?”

“It’s a two-way choice.”

“I am interested, but I also need to understand the true situation of the project before making a decision.”

I was given a pair and I still need to do some research.

The attitude of running away if it’s not good.

"Sure, I can help arrange whoever you want to meet." Mike showed a cooperative attitude.

He is also afraid that the sponsor will run away!
So I quickly agreed.

This is easy to handle.

In fact, Zhang Yuan was not doing this for the research project, but to gain a firm foothold.

In order to get the full "introduction fee" of 50 US dollars, Harvey spent a lot of money.

With a profit of 50%, it will take risks; for a profit of 100%, it will dare to trample on all human laws; with a profit of 300%, it will dare to commit any crime, even risking being hanged... This is a famous quote from "Das Kapital" that is widely circulated on the Internet.

But this sentence was not written by Mr. Ma, but was quoted from the original words of British economic critic Thomas John Denning in his article "Trade Unions and Strike".

Mr. Ma used this passage as an introduction to give his famous point of view.

That is, "when capital comes into the world, from head to toe, every pore is dripping with blood and filth."

Marx's analysis of capital is so accurate, not only because he and his wife are from prominent families and are bourgeoisie.

He himself is a Jewish Taiwanese.

He knows his class and national nature too well.

Harvey, the old Jewish son, is completely in line with these arguments.

Even though they had close cooperation with Universal Pictures and even manipulated the Oscars together.

The past was the past, and the present is the present.

I made money from the cooperation in the last second, and I can sell you out in the next second.

Before coming, he had already thoroughly investigated the people and affairs related to the "Fast and Furious" project at Universal through his network of connections within Universal Pictures, and reported everything to Zhang Yuan.

These hundreds of thousands of dollars were worth it. So he already knew.

For this project, insufficient funds is only a minor problem.

There are even more conflicts within the team.

He didn't care whether these people fought to death or not.

But you have to ensure that you have a comfortable environment to develop.

Simply put, the crew is now divided into two major factions.

The director and some company leaders are in one group, and the producer and Vin Diesel are in one group.

Director Justin Lin was supported by the company.

Vin Diesel and the "iron camp" in the entire series, that is, the producer of every film in the series, Neil Moritz, are in the same boat.

Because this brother Neil is also the producer of another series of Vin Diesel, "xXx".

At the same time, he is also the co-producer of the popular works "Bruce Almighty", "I Am Legend" and "Remote Control of Life" in recent years.

He has some status in Universal Pictures and Hollywood.

This means that there are at least two groups of opinions within Universal that are difficult to reach a consensus on.

This is the entry point that Zhang Yuan wants.

The next day, Zhang Yuanxian went to other parts of North America to participate in the promotional activities of "The Forbidden Kingdom".

Then he flew back to California.

"Xixi, I think you've gone a little crazy." Liu Xiaoli said with a smile on her face on the plane.

Even though the work was done, Liu Xixi followed him back to Hollywood.

He said he wanted to continue practicing driving.

Actually, I also want to play with Zhang Yuan.

Time is rare and she doesn't want to waste it.

"The purpose of going out to play is to have fun."

"Besides, I have made a lot of progress." Xiao Longnu replied.

It's a lot of progress... Zhang Yuan thought, at least he could run a complete lap and no longer run off the track.

And the benefits of the training during the previous filming were reflected at this time.

Although she looks delicate, she has actually developed some muscles.

Driving, especially a modified racing car, is physically demanding.

After three laps, an average person would get cramps in his arms and legs from swinging the plates and stepping on the brakes.

Most of those cars don't have power steering, and driving them around is like exercising.

Take the neck for example. Most people's heads hang down on their shoulders after getting off the bus.

Because of the strong G-force when cornering at high speed, the neck muscles of ordinary people cannot withstand it.

This is why the necks of high-level racing drivers are as thick as their thighs.

"Zhang Yuan, Zhang Yuan, are we going to the race track today?" she asked, leaning over.

"Go ahead. It's booked for several days anyway."

"Then can you take me for a drive? I think you drive better than the instructor." She asked with a smile.

His coach retired from the European Touring Car Championship, although in a lower category.

His level should still be higher than Zhang Yuan's.

But whether it is good or bad does not depend on the technology, but on the people.

If she thinks it is good, then it is good.

Moreover, Zhang Yuan is quite aggressive and dares to push things to the limit.

The coach has to ensure the safety of the students and not be so radical.

"Okay, but you'll have to wait a little while today."

"I have an appointment."

Back to the racetrack.

An older man with the same yellow skin as them had been waiting there.

He was dressed casually, with a white long-sleeved shirt under his short-sleeved shirt and a pair of LeBron James VI shoes on his feet, looking a bit hip-hop.

"Hello, Director Lin."

This person is Justin Lin, the director of "Fast and Furious 3".

My brother is of Chinese descent and was born in Taipei.

When he was eight or nine years old, he immigrated with his parents to the famous Orange County in Los Angeles.

This guy’s earliest dream was to become a professional basketball player and enter the NBA.

Then after I finished growing up, I was only 170cm tall...so I gave up the idea.

"Hello." This person already sounded a little awkward when speaking Chinese.

He has basically become a typical banana person with a yellow skin and a white heart.

"Director Lin, I've heard a lot about you." Zhang Yuan greeted him politely.

The Liu family's mother and daughter were watching from a distance.

When he saw that the person he was meeting was an Asian, he thought he was Zhang Yuan's friend.

Not wanting to disturb them, the two walked away.

I came up to make some connections and had a quick chat.

"Actually, I really like the movie Fast and Furious 3."

“I think it’s brilliant.”

"I heard that you put a lot of effort into preparing this work and studied a lot of racing information."

"Yes." Director Lin replied, all the while observing Zhang Yuan.

He doesn't know the other person.

But the company said that this person is not only a rising star in China, but also a potential investor.

So you have to see it even if you are not happy.

As for why I am not happy.

Han's actor, Sung Kang, is his good friend and has worked with him several times.

This person is about to push my friend over, which is a bit unacceptable.

But in Hollywood, the director's say is far less than in China, so we can only bite the bullet and get involved.

Like Harvey, he didn't understand why Zhang Yuan chose the racetrack as the meeting place.

But then I thought, maybe this guy did his homework in advance, so he is quite dedicated...

In fact, when filming the first "Fast and Furious", the actresses who played the two heroines, Lady and Mia, did not even have a driver's license.

I practiced this specifically for filming.

Paul Walker learned racing for the purpose of filming this movie, and fell in love with sports cars and racing cars after the filming.

This also indirectly led to his later tragedy.

Professional actors, even if they don’t know how, have to learn for the sake of the role.

This is the meaning of professionalism.

Justin Lin also did a lot of research before starting filming.

He was quite sad because he put so much effort into it but the result was so tragic.

I also want to prove myself more.

Zhang Yuan believes that Justin Lin is the best director for the series.

He is the most capable and most suitable for this position.

Another point.

Universal took a fancy to him and asked him to shoot the third film because the commercial film "Conquest of the Wrath of Sea" performed well.

And in this film, Justin Lin worked with Tyrese Gibson and Jordana Brewster and had a great time.

These two are the actors who played Paul Walker's black best friend and wife in the "Fast and Furious" series.

Justin Lin has worked with most of the actors in "Fast and Furious" and is very familiar with them.

Having personal relationships and cooperation experience makes it easier for him to control the team.

So Zhang Yuan also supported him to shoot.

Justin Lin didn't know what he was thinking and seemed a little reserved.

"Director Lin, we are both Chinese and have a lot in common."

"I'm not Chinese, I'm from Taiwan," Justin Lin replied immediately.

Zhang Yuan: …

OK OK.

You want to follow my lead, right?

He knew that many overseas Taiwanese people would call themselves Taiwanese and deny that they were Chinese.

This is not an isolated case.

Some Hong Kong people also have this problem.

Most Chinese people would just laugh it off when they encounter such things and are too lazy to argue.

Because it is useless, it is the spiritual foundation of people.

But this is intolerable.

If we do this, don't blame me for being ruthless later.

"Then let's not talk about this for now."

“Since you’ve also studied racing.”

"How about we get in the car and talk while we drive?"

Zhang Yuan extended an invitation and handed the other party a helmet.

Justin Lin didn't understand what he was up to and agreed reluctantly.

Just drive and consider it a mission accomplished.

Director Lin had no idea what he would face next...

(End of this chapter)